Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted on Hamas’s destruction as part of an Israeli plan presented by the US president, Joe Biden, to end the Gaza war.
“Israel’s conditions for ending the war have not changed: the destruction of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel,” the Israeli leader said in a statement.
“Under the proposal, Israel will continue to insist these conditions are met before a permanent ceasefire is put in place.
“The notion that Israel will agree to a permanent ceasefire before these conditions are fulfilled is a non-starter,” Netanyahu added.
On Saturday, Biden said Israel was offering a new roadmap towards a full ceasefire in Gaza.
He said Israel’s three-stage offer would begin with a six-week phase that would involve Israeli forces withdrawing from all populated areas of Gaza.
It would alsoinclude the “release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly, the wounded, in exchange for [the] release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners”, Biden said.
Israel and the Palestinians would then negotiate during those six weeks for a lasting ceasefire – but the truce would continue while the talks remained under way, Biden said.
Hamas has said it “considers positively” the plan laid out by Biden.
The UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, urged Hamas to accept the proposal.
Writing on X, he said: “With a new hostage agreement on the table, Hamas must accept this deal so we can see a stop in the fighting, the hostages released and returned to their families and a flood of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
“As we’ve long argued a stop in the fighting can be turned into a permanent peace if we are all prepared to take the right steps. Let’s seize this moment and bring this conflict to an end.”
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, said on X: “We have witnessed too much suffering & destruction in Gaza. It’s time to stop. I welcome @POTUS Biden’s initiative & encourage all parties to seize this opportunity for a ceasefire, release of all hostages, guaranteed unhindered humanitarian access & ultimately a durable peace in the Middle East.”
The German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said the Israeli offer “provides a glimpse of hope and a possible path out of the war’s deadlock”, and the EU chief, Ursula von der Leyen, welcomed a “balanced and realistic” approach to end the bloodshed.
Saudi Arabia stressed its “support for all efforts aimed at an immediate ceasefire” and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.
